


Kiro // Ellipse

by mlqcooties



Series: Kiro Series [1]
Category: MLQC - Fandom, Mr Love, Mr. Love: Queens Choice, 恋与制作人 | Liàn Yǔ Zhì Zuò Rén | Mr. Love: Queen's Choice (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, F/M, First Date, Fluff, Gen, Kiro - Freeform, MLQC, Series, Slow Burn, eventual smut occurs in later chapters, mlqc kiro - Freeform, sfw for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlqcooties/pseuds/mlqcooties
Summary: Feeling overwhelmed with your mounting school work, you decide to take a little walk through Loveland City. When you run into the sunshiny superstar you had met only a week prior, an unexpected closeness begins to blossom between you both.Kiro is equally surprised by it, but for slightly different reasons. With everything he has to hide from her, will their budding relationship be able to survive?*You can find more of my work on Tumblr @otomecooties*
Relationships: Bái Qǐ | Gavin/Lǐ Zéyán | Victor/Player Character/Xǔ Mò | Lucien/Zhōu Qíluò | Kiro, Player Character/Zhōu Qíluò | Kiro, Zhōu Qíluò | Kiro/You
Series: Kiro Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929436
Kudos: 11





	1. Pleasant Beginnings

_**Part One: Perihelion** _

**Chapter 1**

“Ellipse: a geometric figure related to a circle, but tilted on one axis with two major foci. When both foci lie at the exact center, the ellipse then becomes a perfect circle. In regards to planetary orbit...” 

An exasperated sigh breaks through your words as your head slumps forward, your cheeks both smushing into each of your fists as you stare deeper into your astronomy textbook. You had decided on impulse last November to finally get back into school... despite the many protests of your coworkers claiming that you were overworked enough as is. A particular line of Kiki’s jumps into your mind.

_ “You’re a producer, Alessia! What on Earth are you going to do with a degree in  _ **_astronomy_ ** _?” _

You’ve always felt incredibly defensive of your love for the stars, but now your face mirrored Kiki’s own look of confusion and disgust almost identically. The first few weeks of your intro courses had been perfectly fine, mostly covering the history of the science itself. Now that finals were quickly approaching however, the dreaded math portion of the course material has reared its ugly head at you. 

With two solid pinches at your temples you press on, rocking slightly in your seat in an attempt to soothe the knot in your chest. “... The perihelion is the point closest to the sun in a planetary body's orbit, the aphelion being the farthest. To calculate these points...” 

Yet another sound of grief escapes you as your face falls into the pages, the usually pleasant smell of printed paper suffocating you completely. Of course, you knew going into this that being in school while simultaneously managing an entire production company was going to be a lot on your plate, but you had no idea just how exhausted you’d be by April. You drag your face across the pages to finally allow yourself a breath clear of inky chemicals, your eyes immediately falling on the sunshiny scenery outside of your window. 

It had been a long winter, one you didn’t really mind all that much, but you can’t deny the appeal of the lush green atmosphere beckoning to you through the glass. When you catch a small glimpse of a young couple walking together on the sidewalk with their hands interlaced in each other’s back pockets, a pang of jealousy stings in your gut. 

_ Well... It’s not like I’m going to get anything done in a mood like this anyway. _

You sigh as you lean back in your chair, pushing yourself as far away from the cursed book at your desk as possible before looking over to your camera on top of your dresser. It’s incredibly outdated, old and well-worn after many years of your clumsy abuse. It had been your father's before he gifted it to you as a child. It was only a few days after you went on one of your infamous rants; this time you wanted to be a photographer when you grew up. You had a bad habit in your younger years of jumping between countless potential careers, yet your dad always seemed equally enthusiastic as he listened to each and every new dream you found within your wondrous mind.

“I know what you’re thinking, ‘Oh little Le, why are you spending such a beautiful Sunday inside? You’re always working too hard, why not go out and live a little?’” You chuckle softly after your little monologue to the ancient machine, turning your head towards the window once more with a sigh of surrender. “I guess you  _ are _ right, though.” 

With a sinfully sloth like grin on your face you lean forward and slam the textbook closed, sweeping it off of your desk and onto the carpet with a muffled thud as you jump out of your chair. 

You dress quickly, throwing your favorite red sundress over your head before stumbling to your floor length mirror to attempt fixing your hair. It’s been long for almost as far back as you can remember, the almost black curls falling in messy tendrils over your shoulders and down your chest. Your hand reaches out to grab your mustard scrunchie off of your desk, deciding that a _ totally purposeful _ messy bun was the only solution today. 

There’s truly no denying that you are your mother's daughter, her Italian blood dominating the vast majority of your features. From your almond hazel eyes, your taller than normal height in China, your pronounced cheek bones and olive skin, all the way down to your impossibly messy hair; every time you looked in the mirror you saw your mother there staring back at you.

As you gather the wild strands above your head, you attempt to simultaneously slip your feet into the barely-still-white sneakers on the floor. When you finally abandon your hair, you hobble a bit towards the door, kicking up each foot in turn to pull the back of your shoes over your heels before making a beeline out of the room. Pausing at your dresser to grab your camera, you look back and catch sight of the rejected book pouting on your floor.

“Not today, Satan.” You hop on your tiptoes towards it, giving the wretched thing a swift kick before running out of your apartment in a fit of giggles.

...

You’re content with walking through the city aimlessly, enjoying the warm glow casting over your skin as you practically skipped down the sidewalk. It’s almost noon now, the sun casting down much welcomed warmth from its highest point in the sky. Smells of barbecue and freshly cut grass surround you as you wonder happily out of the suburbs. The camera around your neck has been all but forgotten by the time you reach the large park near your house. 

When the large field of green finally comes into view, you notice that it's uncharacteristically busy, an amalgamation of bustling apparent crew members and filming equipment littering the usually serene space. Fueled by curiosity, you quicken your pace in an inconspicuous shuffle towards the commotion, stopping at the yellow tape that surrounded the familiar scene of filming.

_ Even on my day off, I still somehow find myself surrounded by video cameras.  _

You roll your eyes slightly before scanning them across the horizon, searching for some hint as to what was being filmed there. Eventually you find two people at the center many yards away, a familiar blonde head immediately catching your attention.

_ Kiro? _

Your suspicions are confirmed when the man turns around, yet the look of aggravation on his face is utterly foreign to you. He’s going on some sort of monologue now that you’re unable to make out very well, yet the anger in his voice is convincing enough that you wouldn’t have realized it’s a scene without the numerous cameras pointed at him.

You don’t know the superstar all that well yet, only having met him a week or so ago. Still, he had definitely left a huge impression on you. Sure, it’s not every day that you meet a famous person, but his lingering in your mind seemed to have been from something much deeper than that.

What amazed you most about him was the indescribable pull he had on those around him, begrudgingly reminding you briefly of your lessons on gravity that you’re attempting to flee. Seeing the way everyone within eye shot has their eyes glued to the man now confirmed the relation in your mind, also leaving you to feel a bit sorry for the poor female lead.

Perhaps it was his usual infectious sunshine in juxtaposition with his stormy attitude now that left you so breathless. His boyishly bubbly personality is definitely a large part of his charm, but seeing you and the crowd still absolutely enamored by him even in this more serious role made you wonder briefly on the true source of his gravitational pull.

Instinctively you reached for your own camera, quickly pulling it up to your eye level to set up a few candid shots of the rare moment. You only get a few snaps in before an incredibly frazzled looking man in a wrinkled suit catches eye of you, immediately barreling towards where you stood in a raging huff.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? This is a private set, no paparazzi allowed!”

The man is only halfway to where you’re standing before he’s practically screaming at you, attempting to block the scene behind him with his waving arms. You’re left stunned by the shock for only a moment before a warmth begins to spread at your cheeks, letting your camera fall from your hands before waving them before you face in a fluster.

“Oh, no no no, I’m not-“

He immediately cuts you off as he reaches you, crossing his arms over his chest as he peers at you through squinted eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before. You need to get going, now.”

“But-“ You try to retaliate as your eyes cast back to where Kiro once was, feeling disappointed when you don’t see him there.

“No ‘buts.’ Lets go.” The stranger reaches out and grabs your arm slightly too hard, seeming to be about to drag you all the way out of Loveland City itself before a familiar voice of wind chimes falls over you both.

“Savin! Chill out man, she’s with me.” Kiro was slightly out of breath, seeming to have run the whole way over. His hand fell on Savin’s shoulder as he spoke, leaning against him slightly as he dramatically bent over to catch his breath. When the grip on your arm doesn’t loosen, you glance hesitantly between the two men. You’d hoped you would get the chance to say hi to your friend after seeing him, but now you feel sheepish knowing that you potentially got him in trouble.

Kiro’s brows furrowed slightly as he straightened himself, noticing that Savin was still holding tight to your arm, his fingers just barely digging into your skin. As he turns his face towards the man and reaches for his wrist, you catch the tense expression on his face change back into his usual smile full of sunshine before their eyes finally meet. For a moment you think you might have heard a cracking sound when his hand encircled his manager's arm.

“Earth to Sav! Anybody home?” He waves his free hand in front of the other man's face as he speaks, his fingers wiggling playfully. “I said she’s good.” His tone was just as pleasant as usual, but there’s still something foreign about the way the words fall off of his tongue. You feel your arm finally be released before the man begins to storm away from you both, calling over his shoulder with the same angry screeching as before.

“You guys get 2 minutes! I mean it. Time is money!” 

Kiro’s eyes rolled as he mockingly mouthed his manager's words, breaking all of the previous tension as you break into a small giggle, causing his eyes to widen as he placed his index finger over his mouth. Immediately you throw your hand over your own, clamping down on your cheeks and wincing as you both slowly turn in the direction of Savin. It seems that he either didn't hear you as he walked away, or he’s just questioning his paychecks worth at this moment.

The far less intimidating man in front of you lets out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry about that, Miss Chips. Savin can be... a little extra sometimes.” Suddenly remembering his manager's tight hold on you moments prior, he scoops your bicep into his hands tenderly, raising it to his eye level for inspection. “Did he hurt you by the way?”

“No not at all, I’m fine really. It was my bad, I didn’t know I couldn’t take photos here.” The blush slowly reblooms on your cheeks as you speak. 

“Oh don’t listen to Sav, he just likes to make up his own stupid rules so that he can feel like the big boss man.” Kiro releases your arm as he continues. “Hey, I gotta get back to work now, but we’re breaking for lunch here soon! If you wanna, you could stick around for a bit and eat with me?” 

“Sure thing. I’ll be... over there.” You point to a random tree near the large pond at the exact opposite of the field. “As far away from Savin as possible.”

Kiro laughs in one of his incredible bursts before responding. “Lucky! I wish I could do that.”

“KIRO!”

Wincing exaggeratedly from his managers screeching, Kiro leans his face slightly closer to yours before whispering. “Speak of the devil, am I right?” 

He turns about face, stomping like a toy soldier towards Savin as you hold back another string of giggles.

...

You allow your camera to guide you like a compasses magnet as you wander through the field, reflexively lifting it to snap particular plants that call out to you. When you walk across a particular type of flower that you don’t recognize, you sink onto one of your knees, eyeing it curiously before lifting your camera. As you peered through the small peep hole to set up your shot, a sudden blur of yellow clouded your vision before you saw a familiar smiling face looking up at you from the grass.

“Jesus Christ!” You jump to your feet instantly, clutching your chest as you choke slightly on your jagged intake of air. 

Kiro laughed from his position below you in the grass.

“Ah, sorry Miss Chips! Didn’t mean to scare ya.” He turned to his side, posing ridiculously in an obvious imitation of the famous scene from titanic. “I was just trying to help you get the perfect shot!”

You sighed in a small laugh. “Sorry, I’m a little jumpy.” He takes your hand thankfully as you reach out to help him up, but when he does rise you somehow feel no weight on your arm.

He dusts his back off with his free hand, causing you to notice the small lunch box in his other. 

“I’m assuming that’s your lunch?” You feel slightly awkward for a moment, realizing that you hadn’t brought any food with you. 

“Yep! No worries though, there’s plenty for us to share. But I have to warn you...” Kiro leaned forward, his face contorted in a look of pure disgust only inches away from yours. “... it’s  _ healthy _ .”

...

You both find a small bench near the pond to sit and eat, Kiro handing you a pair of spare chopsticks that he seems very proud of himself for thinking to grab for you. The wide grin of pride on his face evokes one equally as genuine from you as you both dig into the little bento. He only really eats the rice, using his chopsticks to nudge the assorted veggies towards you with a little grimace on his face.

“I really hate how Savin makes me eat this garbage. He never packs me anything good.” Kiro sighs after handing the bento off to you completely, dramatically falling back against the bench with an arm draped over his look of despair.

You giggle as you pop a piece of broccoli into your mouth, chewing it thoughtfully before responding. “Well, what would you rather have him pack for you?”

“Something not so... green. He could at least give me something sweet to enjoy afterwards. Then maybe I could soldier through all the boiled vegetables.” He sighs again, letting his arm fall to his side as he turned his face towards you, a comical pout at his lips. 

Remembering the apple flavored candy you have in your bag, you lean forward towards him with a small sly smile as you whisper, “Do you like sour candy?”

Kiro’s eyes go wide as he nods excitedly, watching you attentively as you dug through your bag. When you pull out the small candy and hold it out to him, a look of confliction falls over his face. “Thanks Le, but if Sav catches me eating that I’m dead.”

You blink a few times from hearing your father's old pet name for you fall off of his lips. Once the initial shock of it wears off, you feel nothing but warmth radiating through you as your smile returns full force. 

_ It’s kind of nice, hearing that name again. _

Without giving it any thought you begin unraveling the candy tenderly from its wrapper as you speak to him in a sweet tone. “Well, if I’m the one that feeds it to you, then you can just blame me.” You hold the candy between your thumb and index finger as you press it gently to his lips. He looks equally as shocked as you did just a moment prior, before a mischievous smile spreads over his face. The tip of his tongue shines slightly in the daylight as it pokes out of his mouth, brushing lightly against your fingers as he curled the candy into his mouth. The brief contact causes a burning sensation to fill your cheeks.

“Thanks, Potato Chip Princess. I guess I should call you the Princess of Sweets now, huh?” His words barely come out above a whisper, the melody of their hushed tone hypnotizing you for a moment. You both stare at each other for an immeasurable amount of time, Kiro seeming pleasantly amused by your sudden shyness.

A familiar screeching eventually breaks through the spell.

“Kiro! Why did you wonder all the way out here? Break is over!”

All of the former pleasantness melted away from Kiro’s face as he turned his face back towards the sky and sighed deeply, immediately calling back to the man without looking at him.

“Right, Sav. Be right there!”

You glance over at his manager, just barely catching him shaking his head in disappointment before he turns to stomp back to set.

Looking back to Kiro, you find him already looking back at you as well, a small sad smile on his lips.

“Sorry, Miss Chips. Guess I gotta go now.” He gives the top of your head a small but tender pat before rising from his seat, stretching his limbs out in all directions with an arched back and dramatic groan before looking down at you with his usual sunny smile. “Let’s hang out again soon, mkay?”

You give him a smile that you can only hope shines as brightly as his as you nod enthusiastically. “For sure! Good luck with work... and Savin.”

Kiro chuckles as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Thanks, I’m gonna need it.” You return his giggle as he begins to walk around you on the bench and towards the set. He only gets a few strides away before you hear him call to you.

“Oh uhm, wait a sec... actually.” You turn around to face him, noticing that the usually carefree man suddenly looks a little bashful. Raising an eyebrow as a signal for him to continue, he lets out an almost nervous sounding breathy laugh before he speaks again. “The contact info on that card you gave me, is that you’re... cell number?”

“Yessss.” You drag the word out playfully with a look of ‘duh silly’ on your face, causing Kiro to laugh again.

“Hmmm, okie then.” He stiffens his arms as his hands dig further into his pockets, hunching over a bit and giving you a small wink before turning about face to stride happily towards the set and calling out over his shoulder. “Good to know! See ya around, Miss Chips!”

“See ya!” The smile on your face is huge now as you wait for the man to get slightly farther away before sinking dreamily into your seat. Looking at the now abandoned bento on the seat beside you, you tenderly put it back together, feeling slightly sorry for the neglected veggies inside. 

...

Later that evening you’re lying on your couch with a long forgotten movie playing unattended to on your tv, your mind humming over the incredibly pleasant afternoon you had. When you first met Kiro, you had absolutely no intention or reason to believe that either of you would ever become all that friendly with the other. Now though with your cheeks still pink and your heart fluttering slightly too fast in your chest, you feel a slight hope that perhaps the two of you might grow closer.

Remembering the way his warm breath fell over your fingertips as you fed him the candy earlier, the way his tongue just barely grazing your skin made your entire body feel like it was on fire, the way he seemed to know that somehow... judging by the look of amusement on his face. 

_ Maybe it’s not the smartest idea for me to be letting myself get carried away like this. I barely know the guy, plus he seems to just be the type who gets along with everyone. I doubt he really meant anything more than just trying to be nice when he offered to spend his lunch break with me. But still... _

All of it only drives you further into your thoughts, your anxiety only having a brief moment to chastise you before a trio of chimes came from your phone in your lap.

When you open it, you’re confused for a moment to see a text from an unknown number, but that confusion quickly turns to glee as you find a selfie with a familiar sunshiney face at its center.

**_“Ahhhh, so freakin 'tired from filming all day. I hope you have a good night, Sweet Princess! Dream of me maybe? Hahaha. 😅” read 9:36 p.m._ **

The adorable selfie with its equally cute caption makes you squeal inside, your cheesy grin cutting through the deep flush at your cheeks as you quickly type out a response.

**_“Haha maybe~ Sweet dreams, Kiro!” sent 9:38 p.m._ **

You fall into the couch after hitting send, your arm lazily draping over the side to the floor as you dropped your phone through limp fingers onto the carpet. Conflicting feelings swarm over you, but the small joy from the little good night text ends up winning out over the rest.

_ Maybe it’s still a bit foolish or silly of me... but I think I might like the boy. _

_ ~ _

An endless blur of green flashed against the lenses resting on the bend of Kiro’s nose, the only sound in the dark room being the rapid tapping of his fingers dancing across his keyboard. Almost immediately after sending the photo to the girl, he hears his phone chime from a few feet beside him. His eyes roll affectionately as he pushes his open palms against the edge of his current desk, jerking his chair in one swift motion towards the second one at his right side.

He wasn’t sure why he texted the girl in the first place, only acting on his impulse and unexplainable desire to speak to her again. What he had truly wanted to say to her was far more irritated and grumpy than the bubblegum caption he crafted for her. His first instinct to send a photo of himself slumped over his desk with his face pressed against the keys, the crevices beneath his eyes far darker and well defined than in the recycled sweet selfie he had taken weeks prior.

That’s what he truly feels, tired. Exhausted. Even more exhausting than the work constantly flooding him, was having to pretend he was unphased by it. To pretend that he was always so happy-go-lucky and care free. 

At first, it wasn’t all that hard. All famous people had to do something similar, amplifying the most politically correct and publically likable aspects of their personalities while desperately trying to hide the parts of them they didn’t want the world to see. The act in and of itself wasn’t so bad. It was the weight of what exactly it was he had to hide. The fact that even now, when he felt such a foreign desire creeping in his stomach, he had to still keep up his charade despite his desires.

_ Appearances, appearances. Why are they so boring to keep? _

Even then, he couldn’t deny the pleasant warmth that immediately spread through his chest when he knew the girl had responded to him so quickly. He rested his elbow against the wood beside his phone, his chin tucking into his palm as his free hand unlocked the device.

**_“Haha maybe~ Sweet dreams, Kiro!’ read 9:38 p.m._ **

_ Maybe, huh? _

A small twitch pulled the corner of his mouth into a lopsided grin as his thumbs hovered over the screen for a moment, contemplating if he should respond somehow despite the obvious natural end to the conversation. He sighed heavily as he locked the device and placed it back on the desk face down.

He enjoyed being around her more than he could have ever anticipated, even with the barrier of his Kiro mask leering between them. It wasn’t as if the persona wasn’t truly him, it was, but only half. A half of himself he had to amplify as much as he could, burying everything else that completed his soul deep beneath it.

The girl's reaction to his “accidental” contact earlier that day was the closest he had ever come to that mask slipping. The wall was still there, his control well practiced enough that something so small couldn’t possibly break it. Still… if he drug this out any further, he knew those temptations could only grow progressively harder to ignore over time.

Slumping back into his chair dramatically with his face towards the ceiling, he shuffled his feet against the floor to slowly push himself back to his computer’s numerous monitors. Keeping his slouched position, his hand reached out and patted clumsily at his desk, crashing against countless stray objects until finding the familiar stiff cardboard box. 

He held it against his chest with one hand as his thumb flicked the top open, the fingers of his free hand digging inside before plucking out a cigarette and flinging the box haphazardly on the abandoned desk now several feet before him. It crashes against the wood before sliding across its width, tumbling behind the small crevice between the table's edge and the wall before falling to the floor. 

With his eyes never having left the ceiling, the only evidence of his failed trick shot is the sound of the cardboard clattering against the hardwood floor. Too exhausted to bother, he groaned as he pressed the cigarette between his lips, his hand sliding into his pocket and pulling out his well-worn lighter. He flung it open effortlessly with a flick of his wrist before his thumb pressed firmly against its small metal wheel.

He sucked deeply as the tobacco caught flame, letting the smoke roll across his tongue and swim in his mouth for a moment before inhaling, exhaling in an only slightly less irritated sigh into the dark and otherwise silent room. An unexpectedly genuine grin forms behind the smoke and around the words as they creep from his chest in his voice's true deeper tone.

“This girl is going to be the death of me.”

**_To be Continued..._ **


	2. Star Gazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing about your growing frustration with your schoolwork, Kiro surprises you with something you could have never anticipated. You’re absolutely giddy from the incredible sweetness of the gesture, but you still find yourself somehow distracted by the foreign look behind his eyes...

**_3 Days Later…_ **

All of the numbers flashing across Kiro’s monitor were finally starting to blend into a never ending blur of unreadable information. He sighed in defeat as he removed his glasses, carefully folding them closed and placing them on his desk before sliding lower into his chair with a long and irritated groan. Eventually his seat disappeared beneath him completely as he found himself seated on the floor, the chair spinning several feet behind him as he slowly lowered his back against the cool hardwood. 

After a few minutes of sulking went by, he heard his phone vibrate from the desk above him. His gaze lazily draws itself towards the sound, an exhausted and bitter smile spreading across his lips as he extends his arm out beside him with his palm facing upward.

“I command you... to fall into my hand.”

He waited a brief moment for dramatic effect, another sigh escaping him when the phone kept it’s expected position.

_ I don’t know why I bother to keep trying, it never works _ .

He arched his back as his long arm reached upwards, his fingers quickly finding and wrapping around his phone before his head fell back against the floor a bit too hard. Letting his free hand curl beneath his scalp to massage the now tender spot, he unlocked the device with a slight grimace on his face.

**_“If I have to look at one more freaking number tonight I’m going to lose my mind and jump out the window.” read 7:05 p.m._ **

The grimace on Kiro’s face immediately disappears after reading the girls text, a large grin spreading against his cheeks.

_ Potentially the most relatable damn sentence I’ve ever read _ .

“ **_Haha~ so relatable Miss Chips!” sent 7:09 p.m._ **

**_“Wait... what floor of the building is your office on...?” sent 7:09 p.m._ **

**_“I’m at my apartment now. I think it's about 3 stories?” read 8:02 p.m._ **

**_“Really not high enough if you ask me rn...” read 8:03 p.m._ **

Alessia sent the second message before he had time to respond to the first. He immediately burst into laughter of relief from the girl's dark joke. He presses the call button next to her name, holding the phone to his ear while his free hand now nervously scratched at the back of his head from against the ground.

It only rings once.

“Kiro! I uhm- wasn’t expecting you to call.”

“Hiya Miss Chips! I figured you could use a little break from all the  _ working _ .” He vocally grimaces on the last word before his tone fills with concern. “You know it’s not good for you to take work home, right?”

A deep sigh falls into his ear, stirring something strange in his chest. 

“It’s not ‘work’ work, sadly. I’m studying for my final exams right now.”

“Oh! I didn’t know you were in school.” Kiro’s brows furrowed slightly in genuine confusion, wondering how the hell she managed school and a production company simultaneously. “Whatcha studying?”

“Astronomy mostly, it’s what my degree is in. A decision I’m beginning to regret if I’m being honest.”

_ Astronomy…? _

“Awe, are you not liking it as much as you thought you would?”

“No, it's not that really. I’ve always loved learning about the stars, it’s all this damn math that’s driving me nuts.”

“Well then, why  _ do _ you like stars?”

The girl takes only a moments pause before her words begin to flood his ear.

“When I was a little girl I used to lay in my backyard almost every night, staring up at the sky with my dad. He’d point out all of the constellations to me… telling me their names, their history, how humans had tried to interpret them throughout time. It’s almost like when we stare up at the night sky, it reminds us of how small we are, while also showing us everything we could become.” She pauses for a moment before letting out a flustered sigh. “It’s just that I couldn’t care less about how to calculate the perihelion of a planetary body's orbit.”

Kiro lied. 

“Well I have no idea what that even means, but it even  _ sounds _ boring just hearing you talk about it.”

Alessia bursts into laughter, the tone of her voice raising several octaves before she spoke again.

“Dude, right? I wish I could just get a degree in staring at the sky, I could do  _ that _ forever and never get tired of it.”

“Hmmmm...” Kiro hummed into the phone, a small plot forming in his head. “How about we do something fun this weekend? It can be a little reward to keep ya motivated.”

“Really? Like what?” The girl's words bubbled through the fun, obviously intrigued by the suggestion. A warmth spread over his entire body from the sound.

“Ahhhh don’t try to spoil the surprise! That’s half the fun.” The grin on Kiro’s face was continuously spreading, his cheeks beginning to ache slightly as the plan developed itself fully in his mind. “How about Saturday night?”

“Saturday sounds perfect.”

“Sweet! Then I’ll pick you up at 8.” Kiro barely stops himself from sighing happily into the phone, biting his bottom slightly before continuing. “Try not to work yourself too hard until then, okay Princess?”

There’s a small pause on the other line, an almost indistinguishable rustling before she finally responds.

“Yes! 8! Sound’s good.” Her voice was completely flustered now, causing the strange feeling in his chest to rise. “You don’t work too hard either, mkay?”

“Mkay!” He chuckles the word into the phone, wishing for a moment that he could keep his word. “Sweet dreams, Miss Chips.”

“You too, Kiro.”

He pulls the phone away from his ear slowly, staring at the call for a few moments and letting out a small laugh when he is eventually the one to hang up.

~

**_That Saturday..._ **

_ Why do boys always try to turn plans into a surprise? They must not understand how impossible it makes picking out something to wear. _

You eye your closet anxiously from where you sit, pouting on the edge of your bed. You’re mostly ready for the _ (...date?) _ , your hair and make up having been the simple part. Now however, less than an hour before Kiro is supposed to pick you up, you’re absolutely stumped on how to continue.

_ Is it dinner? A movie? A midnight stroll? Should I wear heels? Should I bring a jacket?  _

Your thoughts race through your mind, your anxious habit of overthinking small details causing a familiar speed of rhythm escalating in your chest. You tried to ignore the most important question, yet no matter how hard you pushed back it stayed steadily at the front of your mind.

_ Is this a date? _

You’re suddenly snapped back to reality when a familiar sequence of chimes bubble from your phone.

**_“Hiya Miss Chips~ I’m heading ur way soon. Wear something comfy... probably bring a sweater too.” read 7:15 p.m._ **

_ Jesus Christ could the man be any more perfect? _

You let out a relieved sigh through your smile as you toss the phone aside and walk towards your dresser. You pull out a pair of black high waisted leggings and a beige cropped tank top, pulling on your oversized burnt orange sweater and your trusted pair of no-longer-white sneakers.

When you examine yourself in the mirror, you decide that the outfit is now too casual, groaning slightly at the complicated nature of your current assignment. Instantly you pull the scrunchie out of your hair, letting your long and messy dark curls fall over your shoulders. Pondering for a moment, you grab your small golden star-shaped necklace. The tiny pendant falls just at the beginning of your collar bone, adding just enough of a flare to the ensemble that you feel satisfied with it.

Even though he told you he was only just about to leave, you still grab your small black bag and head downstairs, not being able to stand anxiously waiting in your apartment any longer. Instead, you anxiously wait on the side of the road, chewing the skin at the tip of your thumb nervously as you shivered slightly against the cool spring night air.

_ Why am I like this? _

You hop slightly between your feet continuously, bobbing up and down as you contemplated each possible outcome of the night. Usually you really enjoyed surprises, but not when you already knew about them beforehand, and especially not now when Kiro was involved. 

_ He’s probably just taking you to get chicken nuggets or something, don't make a big deal out of it. _

It was then, about 30 minutes before Kiro was supposed to pick you up, that a small but very expensive looking black car pulled up in front of you. A slight feeling of unease set over you as the passenger side window slowly rolled down, but it instantly melted away when you saw a familiar sunshiny face staring up at you. He was hunched over the passenger seat with his hand pressed against its door, a million watt smile on his face.

“Hey there little lady! Need a ride?” He put on an old Hollywood gentlemen accent as he spoke, erupting giggles from you as his face disappeared. “Wait there!”

Kiro’s door swings open as he jumps out of his seat, taking a long stride before sliding himself over the hood of the car, landing on his feet with a small thud on the side closer to you. You couldn’t help but shake your head at him through your laughter as his hand reached to open car door for you, bowing his upper body dramatically as his free hand motioned you inside.

“Your chariot awaits, M’lady.” 

A small snort breaks through your giggle as you pat his head gingerly without thinking. Before he can look up to you and find the now rapidly growing flush on your face, you quickly slink into the car before its closes behind you with a solid thud. Kiro’s hips shimmy slightly as he walks across the front of his car, his head swaying as he seemed to be humming some sort of tune.

You’ve never seen the boy dressed so casually, wearing a pair of black form fitting sweat pants and a slightly oversized pink hoodie with some sort of abstract black markings on his chest. Even then, he still looked like he should be on the front of a magazine right now.

He started the vehicle as soon as he slipped inside, looking over to flash his ever present smile at you.

“Ready, Miss Chips?”

“Yep!” You let out a small sigh through your smile as he shifts the car into drive, his arm swinging over you before his hand grasps on the back of your headrest. He looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the space, the proximity of his wrist to your face as you ogled him making your head dizzy.

You had imagined he’d pick you up in the back of a limo or something, never having anticipated that the superstar even knew how to drive. Still, the surprise is a pleasant one, and something about watching him as he pulled the vehicle out of its spot on the side of the road made your heart escalate.

“So, is this the part where you tell me what exactly we’re doing?”

“Ahhh, no not yet.” Kiro’s eyes sparkle against the passing street lights as he seems to realize he had forgotten something. “Oh! That reminds me...” One of his hands dug into his front pocket as he spoke, his hips lifting upwards before he pulled out a wide yellow ribbon and handed it out to you. “When we get closer, I’ll need you to put this on. No cheating! I mean it.”

...

A few minutes before you’re both supposed to arrive Kiro instructs you to tie the ribbon over your eyes. You giggle as you do, still not having been able to deduce what you were doing even after the longer than expected drive. He’d taken you both far out of the city, down a long and winding dirt road.

You could practically hear Kiro bouncing in his seat as the car finally came to a stop, hearing him immediately throw his own door open before you feel a cool breeze directly beside you. Long fingers intertwined with yours as he takes your hand in his and leads you patiently out of the car, causing you to curse yourself inwardly from the burning sensation at your cheeks. He leads you for some time, occasionally warning you to watch your step as your feet left the sidewalk and found uneven ground. As you both get closer to wherever you're going, the smells and sounds of the sea begin to flood your senses.

Eventually you feel Kiro come to a halt beside you. “Okie dokie! We’re here.” Your hand instantly felt cold as his own left it before you heard him step behind you, his fingers quickly working out the knot at the back of your head as the scene before you came into view. 

A small white yacht was docked before you both, a small crew waving down at you both with wide grins on their faces. You were shocked for a moment, unable to move as you looked on at the definitely-not-just-chicken-nuggets surprise Kiro had planned for you.

“Kiro... this is too much. I-“ You looked up to the boy still behind you as you spoke, his index finger quickly falling over his lips as he cut you off.

“Shhhh. Come on now.” Kiro gave a few playfully light nudges to your back as you eventually stepped forward, a grand sigh of surrender slipping through the teeth of your grin.

...

Kiro led you both to a small seating area at the back of the boat, sitting directly next to you on the large white circular couch before a crew member brought you both glasses of champagne. You sipped it nervously as the boat took off from port, the blonde strands of Kiro’s hair instantly rustling through the slight wind.

He looked back to you with a cheesy smile, holding his glass out to cheer with yours before speaking.

“How’s this for relaxing, hm?”

“It’s really... something else Kiro. Thank you.” 

“Ah, don’t thank me now. We haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.” Kiro’s sweet smile turns sly as he speaks, giving you a little wink before directing the conversation to your work that week. He seems genuinely enthralled in each and every detail about the mundane assignments you had been swamped with, his eyes progressively bugging further out of his head with each one.

“Geez... poor Miss Chips.” He eventually sighed when you were done, seeming to be in utter disbelief and agony over your own stressful week. He held his hand to his chest as he slumped dramatically in his seat, groaning in mock pain. “That sounds so exhausting, I’m tired now just thinking about it.”

“Oh it’s fine, nothing I can't handle. Besides... I’m having a great time now, so all is well.” 

Kiro’s smile instantly returns as he looks up to the sky, jumping slightly from his seat before his hands fall over your eyes, making you jump in turn.

“Kiro! What on earth are-“

“Shhh shhh shhh, come on! It’s time for the surprise.” 

You sighed heavily before slowly rising from your seat. Kiro kept his hands in their same position over your eyes as he walked backwards, seeming to lead you both towards the front of the yacht. You hear him stumble over his feet a few times, causing a never ending stream of nervous and amused giggles to fall from you.

Eventually he stops, his palms pressing slightly harder into your face as you come to a stop as well.

“Okay, ya ready now?”

“Yessss.” You hum the word to him impatiently.

His hands immediately fall from your face, and for a moment all you can see is his sunshiny smiling face staring down at you. His blue eyes were practically glowing, mesmerizing you for an awkwardly long moment before you snapped back to reality and scanned the boat deck surrounding you. You finally find a shoulder height white tent directly beside you both.

“Wow Kiro, a sheet! How did you know?”

Kiro’s face shined just as brightly despite him rolling his eyes at you. “I thought you were an astronomer, not an aspiring comedian.” Both of his hands gently cup your cheeks as he teased you, causing your heart to jump sporadically as those same hypnotizing eyes stared into yours sweetly.

_ Is he...? _

Your entire face immediately burned before you felt his fingers begin to tilt your face upwards, your eyes instinctively closing in anticipation as you felt your knees turn to jello. You hear Kiro chuckle, much lower in tone and quieter than usual before he tilts your head back further.

“Open your eyes, silly.”

Confused and embarrassed, you did as you were instructed, seeing an incredible expanse of brighter than ever stars staring down at you both. Your jaw went slack, your mouth popping open in awe at the beautiful sight. It had been ages since you had seen the stars like this, the lights from the city usually washing them out almost completely. 

You heard Kiro chuckle again as his fingers gently slid from your face. When your eyes look back to him he has already begun pulling at the sheet beside you both, revealing the telescope that had been hiding beneath.

“I figured you’d be able to see them much better out here.” His face beamed proudly at you as he spoke, tapping the instrument beside him a few times before continuing. “Whenever I get stressed from work, I sometimes lose sight of why I’m even doing it. That’s when I always read my fan mail, or listen to my last album...” He winks at you sweetly, his fingers pressing gently on the telescope's farthest end to swing the viewing lens before you. “Reminds me that all the hard work is worth it. Right, Le?”

You’re absolutely stunned for a moment as you blink at Kiro repeatedly, your mouth still hanging open slightly as you wondered how on earth he managed to plan something so perfect for you. He leaned forward, slouching over slightly so that his eyes were level with yours.

“This is the part where you thank me now.”

A burst of giggles bubbled from your throat as you nodded your head at him. “Thank you, Kiro.”

You look through the lens excitedly, quickly finding your favorite stars within their constellations. You’d occasionally point one out to Kiro, telling him all about it’s distance from earth, it’s age, and it’s history as he took his turn peering at them through the telescope. He seemed to be completely enthralled in each word you spoke, and after some time it began to feel like you were giving the boy his own private astronomy lecture.

Usually, when you got lost in your own ramblings over the things you loved like this, you felt embarrassed. You’d usually apologize immediately, changing the subject to something you thought the other party might find more interesting. But there was something special about the way Kiro stared up at the stars himself, the way he nodded his head earnestly with each word you spoke, and the way he would smile widely at you when he brought his face back up from the lens; that made your usual anxiety and shame melt away completely.

It was halfway through the history of human beings' knowledge of the solar system that you both abandoned the telescope completely, laying on your backs atop the previously abandoned white sheet as you both stared up at the sky. 

Kiro was endlessly amused by how long it took for people to discover that the earth wasn’t the center of the universe, his chuckles becoming progressively deeper as you went through the story. 

“So if they were that convinced for so long, how did they ever find out they were wrong?”

“Well that's sort of... complicated. I suppose Occam’s Razor had a lot to do with it.”

“Occam’s what now?” You looked over to Kiro to find him already looking at you as well, his brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

“Occam’s Razor. It’s basically a method for criticizing scientific hypotheses. It says that the further you are from the truth, the more complicated the thesis has to become to explain discrepancies in the evidence. Essentially it just means that the answer to anything is almost always the simplest option.” 

Kiro pondered your words for a moment, his smile slowly slipping away into something more serious.

“But what if the question they’re trying to answer is complicated, wouldn’t the solution be too?”

“Well... I suppose Occam would say that no problem is really all that complicated, they just might seem to be. So in that way, I guess complication is just an illusion that occurs when we don’t quite understand something yet.”

“Hmmm.” Kiro’s face tilted back to the sky as he seemed to ponder deeper on your words, his usual sunshiny expression morphing into something foreign to you. “Maybe he’s right, but I don't know... life seems pretty complicated sometimes.”

“Yes, it does  _ seem _ that way, doesn’t it?” You smile inwardly as Kiro rolls his eyes at your cheesy emphasis of his word choice. Usually he would laugh with you, and he still does, but it sounds different than usual. So different that it almost sounds like a sigh rather than a laugh. “But I think once you get the chance to look deeper, and you find the solution to whatever you were struggling through... you find those problems to be much simpler than you originally thought they were.”

Kiro’s mouth twitches at it’s corners before pulling into a sad, seemingly forced smile.

“I sure hope so.” A deep sigh falls from his chest before he sits himself up and pulls himself to his feet, his hand immediately reaching out to you. “It’s getting pretty late, I should probably get you home, huh?” All of the previous tension has left his face completely, returning to its usual sunshiny expression within the blink of an eye.

~

Kiro sighed as the girl's frame disappeared behind the front door of her building, allowing himself to sink slightly into the driver’s seat as his eyes closed.

Each adorable lecture the girl had stumbled into made him feel like he was hearing the information for the first time, her enthusiasm for the subject infectiously seeping into him. He thought of the way her face had glowed against the night sky, the way the stars' reflections twinkled in her eyes as she stared up at them, how clearly those same eyes seemed to stare directly into him.

He groaned loudly as he sat himself upright, leaning his forehead against the steering wheel for a moment before putting the car into drive.

_ What the hell have you gotten yourself into now? _


End file.
